Stadika named winner of Helsinki 5G base station design contest

The City of Helsinki, Elisa and Nokia co-operated with design expert organisation Ornamo to find a stylish model for the Helsinki 5G base stations and network environment. The aim of the design contest launched in September 2018 was to find a unique and easily scalable model that is applicable in the Helsinki city environment. The contest criteria were best met in an entry called Stadika.

One of the essential objectives of the contest was to build a digital city in co-operation with different actors. The contest was arranged to find solutions both to a model which is attached to the existing infrastructure and to a separate, self-standing base station. One criterion was, for example, that the base station would, in terms of appearance, become a natural part of the city environment and be formable if need be.

During the contest period from 18 September to 18 November 2018, there were 32 entries submitted, of which the jury picked out the five best for public voting. The entries were the following: Kehikot, Stadika, Nest, Reflect and Dice Dice Baby. The voting resulted in a top three of Stadika, Kehikot and Reflect, which the jury then rated for the final ranking.

The winner of the competition is Stadika. The jury described the winning entry as follows: "Stadika is a simple, but still interesting base station model. Its clean shapes combine technology and design in an excellent manner. The exterior can easily be branded without it losing its recognisability and it can be seen as a functional part of the city environment. The base station builds user interaction not only through its informative lighting, but also through its different purposes of use. The base station does not steal the attention, but it can be recognised easily. Its dynamic forms speak of a futuristic purpose of use and tell a story of a jointly constructed city environment."

The winning team received a prize of 20,000 euros.

The second place and a prize of 10,000 euros went to the entry called Reflect and the third place and a prize of 5,000 euros to the entry called Kehikot. Honourable mentions were given to the entries called Nest and Dice Dice Baby and, outside the finalists, to the entry called Silta.